A Moldovan delegation led by Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov, head of the Agency of Tourism Nicolae Platon and MP Ghenadie Ciobanu visited the People's Republic of China between August 7 and 10, at the invitation of the Chengdu Municipal government, the capital of Sichuan province. IPN offers a review of the events from the perspective of one of the organizers, the head of the Moldovan-Chinese Joint Company “Eastern Allfriends” Ltd, Mihai Podgurschi.
According to him, the importance and results of the visit can be appreciated by considering the special status of the host: the Chengdu Municipality has 16 million inhabitants and Shuangliu autonomous district 1.35 million. Chengdu has the necessary will, interest and infrastructure to boost the development of Moldovan-Chinese relationships.
"The visit began on August 7 with the Moldova-China forum, moderated by Mr. Li Yangjun, deputy prefect of the Shuangliu autonomous district. The parties made presentations about agriculture, tourism, culture and traditions in Moldova and in the Sichuan Province, PRC", says Michael Podgurschi. Also at the forum, Chinese officials spoke about the benefits of the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway, which connects the capital of Sichuan Province with the city of Lodz, Poland".
"For now, the transportation of goods this way covers the distance of 9826 km in 12 days compared with 22 days, if transported via Russian railways, or to 45 days by sea. Minister Vasile Bumacov praised the aforementioned benefits, especially for Moldovan wines that on their way to China will cross regions with similar climates to our country (Poland, Belarus, Kazakhstan) and their quality won't be affected by major fluctuations of ambient temperature", says “Eastern Allfriends” CEO.
The Moldova-China Forum culminated with the formalization of bilateral twinning intentions between the autonomous district Shuangliu, Chengdu, PRC, and Orhei, Moldova.
August 8 began with the official opening of Moldova's permanent Pavilion in China. "In addition to officials from Moldova, the event was attended by Chinese officials headed by Mr. Fu Yonglin, deputy mayor of Chengdu. The Pavilion has a total area of 550 square meters and was opened thanks to the private investment of Chinese company "Beijing Eastern Allfriends International Trade" Ltd. For starters, it exhibits the production of four Moldovan wineries: Milestii Mici, Chateau Vartely, Vindecum and Suvorov-Vin. The wines are joined by the products of the canning factory in Calarasi and of natural oils manufacturer "Doctor Oil". The presence of 48 mass media organizations speaks volumes about the Chinese people's interest in Moldovan culture, traditions and products. Moldova's official delegation has given several interviews to Chinese media, including the central television of the Sichuan province, which have been broadcast for a week, every day at 6 PM. The province has 87 million inhabitants and an area of 485,000 square kilometers", said Mihail Podgurschi.
"Also at the event, deputy mayor of Chengdu Mr. Fu Yonglin, accepted the invitation of Minister of Agriculture Vasile Bumacov to visit Moldova. The return visit is scheduled for October 4-5, 2014, during the Wine Festival", Podgurschi told IPN.
The same evening, the company "Eastern Allfriends Beijing International Trade" Ltd has organized a presentation and tasting of Moldovan wines and canned foods for officials and guests.
The third day of the visit was marked by several informal conversations between officials about the prospects for deepening the Moldovan-Chinese relations, increasing exports of quality agricultural products to China, the exchange of professional cultural ensembles, conducting informative tours to increase the number of tourists eager to visit both Moldova and China and the possibility of making charter flights with the support of the Chengdu municipal government support, its airport being the 4th largest in China etc. The Moldovan delegation then visited multiple places of cultural, historical and touristic interest in Chengdu and Shuangliu.
On Sunday, August 10, the delegation returned to Beijing, where it attended the Forum "Invest in Moldova" organized by the company "Eastern Allfriends Beijing International Trade" Ltd at the China National Convention Center. "Following the description of the investment climate, opportunities for business and production in Moldova by Minister Vasile Bumacov and director Nicolae Platon, more potential Chinese investors have shown interest in starting businesses in the country. In particular, there was interest in sectors of winemaking, the processing of agricultural products and hospitality", the head of the Moldovan-Chinese Joint Company “Eastern Allfriends” LLC, Mihai Podgurschi told IPN.